Christmas Party
by CrimsonInuTears
Summary: Shikamaru/OC. Gift for my friend RK to enjoy.


Okay, so this is/was a gift form my friend RK for Christmas last year... Yeah, took a while to get up 'ere. Oh well, guess it's up now. Merry Christmas~ ^_^'

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"Alright, that's all for tonight. You can go home Tsubaki." The girl bowed politely as she turned to leave the doctor's office. Her shoes clicked lightly as she made her way down the hall to drop off the multiple clipboards in her arms at the front desk.

"Oh Tsubaki, heading home so early?" The nurse asked, reaching for the charts the girl held out to her.

"Yes, it seems I'm being forced to take a vacation." Tsubaki said, as she moved her now free hand to her long bangs from in front of her right eye, only for them to slide right back into place.

"Well it's no wonder, you've been here every day for the last two months." The woman behind the desk commented as she placed the charts in their respective places. "If I was your boss I'd demand you take time off as well. Don't you want to spend Christmas at home with your family, instead of here?"

"Don't even ask her that. Remember, I had to threaten suspension if she didn't take time off the last time." The doctor from before said with a laugh as he came down the hall an over to Tsubaki. He then held out a very warn book, a large red ribbon wrapped around it. "Here, something to keep you away for a few days," he said smiling.

Tsubaki took it quickly, smile growing as well. "Thank you, sir."

"Yeah yeah, you're welcome. Now get out of here and enjoy your Christmas off." He said waving her off.

Tsubaki smiled down at the medical reference book as she walked toward her nearby apartment. As she reached to pull off the ribbon, she noticed inclosing steps in front of her and looked up to see Shikamaru walking toward her. She smiled as he stopped in front of her.

"Hey, I was just on my way to the hospital to talk to you." He said, hands moving to pockets.

"Oh? What did you want to talk about?" Tsubaki asked as she moved her hand for her bangs.

"Mom's been making me run around all of Konoha the last three days inviting people to her annual Christmas party," he said with an annoyed sigh as he pulled out a long list of names from his pocket. Tsubaki noted her family name was the only one not crossed off the list.

"Your mother is inviting us too?" She asked, her question turning to a smirk as she asked, "So she knows then?"

"Not yet," he sighed in relief. "But she's trying to confirm her suspicions."

"I see…" Tsubaki held her hand to her chin thoughtfully.

"How troublesome… I'm supposed to invite your father and brother, since we didn't know if you were working or not." he said, shifting slightly.

Tsubaki nodded, "I understand. Don't worry, I'll tell my father about the party so you can head back." She noticed the very slight drop of Shikamaru's eyes and shoulders. "But… I am on forced leave till the 26th, and I didn't have any other plans, so…" she smiled as he tried to act nonchalant, shifting his gaze again.

"Alright, then I guess I'll see you tomorrow." He said turning quickly. "Later Tsubaki."

"Good night Shikamaru." She said, chuckling lightly to herself, as she changed directions and headed toward her father's house.

.

The Nara Christmas Party was always a very big affair. It almost seemed like half the village was there this year, Tsubaki noted as she walked behind her father toward the Nara compound. They were early, but the place was already bustling with chatter and music. Some of the men standing on the porch greeted her father, causing him to stop and chat while she headed inside with their gifts for the hosts.

Mrs. Nara greeted her with a friendly smile and polite conversation. Tsubaki followed her into the kitchen, where she noticed a number of the other guests were already gathered helping with food preparations and chatting animatedly. Before long she was forgotten for other matters, and she took the opportunity to slip out the back door.

The thin layer of snow that spread across the expansive forest behind the large building glowed softly in the last light of the falling sun. Tsubaki walked out to the edge of the long patio and rested her elbows on the wooden railing. Her eye caught the movement of a pair of deer getting ready to settle down for the night under a large evergreen near the edge of the woods.

The doe's head turned to look at her, though Tsubaki quickly realized that the animal was looking at whoever had just come through the back door behind her. She turned to see Shikamaru walking to the spot next to her.

"Hey," he said casually, hands shoved stiffly in his pockets.

"Hello," Tsubaki replied, hand moving the bangs just for them to fall back in her face.

They stood in silence for a few moments till Shikamaru moved to break the silence first. "So where's Kimihiro?" He asked, eyes trained on the trees in the distance.

"It seems he had already agreed to go to his classmate's party." Tsubaki said, her smile changing. "You didn't want him here anyway, right?" She chuckled at the lack of response. "Yes, my brother can be quite a handful… and he doesn't seem to like you very much."

"Yeah… How troublesome." He glanced at Tsubaki as she chuckled at the saying, though all he could see were the long bangs that kept the side of her face from view.

After another long moment of silence, Tsubaki moved to look up at the darkening sky, only to notice the small green and red plant hanging on the edge of the balcony roof, directly between them. She smirked. "I see…"

Shikamaru followed her gaze and copied her smirk. "Mistletoe."

"You're mother thinks of everything, doesn't she?" Tsubaki asked, a light smile crossing her lips as she moved to face him fully, hand moving for her bangs once more.

"Yeah…" Shikamaru turned an leaned forward slightly, allowing Tsubaki to close the distance.

The kiss only lasted a few seconds, but they had barely pulled apart when his hands slid out of his pockets and around her waist, pulling her into a heated kiss. Tsubaki smiled into his lips as her own hands caught his sleeves just below the shoulder.

When the two finally pulled apart, Tsubaki noticed the giggles and chatter seemed louder. Glancing through her bangs to the door she saw that just inside a number of the women were watching them, including Mrs. Nara. She smiled when her eyes moved back to him and she noticed the light tinge from the cold air had darkened.

"I guess the secret's out. She knows for sure now." Tsubaki said as she tilted her head slightly, her own blush deeper as well.

"How troublesome." He sighed, kissing her once more before turning his back completely on the door.

Tsubaki followed suit, but waited till she noticed the voices inside quieting a bit, everyone going back to their own business, before leaning against his shoulder. She noticed the pair of deer were now nestled comfortable together in the snow.

"So…" Shikamaru broke the silence once more, "You said you have tomorrow off too?"

Tsubaki smiled.


End file.
